ELLISVILLE– Approximately 100 of the 150 students earning their High School Equivalency (HSE) diploma at Jones College over the last year will be participating in a commencement ceremony held in the M.P. Bush Fine Arts Auditorium at Jones College on Thursday, July 25, at 7 p.m. Besides receiving their HSE diploma, during the ceremony, high scoring students will learn if they are a recipient of a scholarship to continue their education at Jones College.
Jones County Judge Wayne Thompson will be serving as the keynote speaker at the event. He has served as County and Youth Court Judge for Jones County for the past seven years. Prior to Judge Thompson taking the bench, he practiced law in Laurel for 22 years serving as the elected County Prosecuting Attorney of Jones County and the appointed board attorney for the Jones County Board of Supervisors, Economic Development Authority of Jones County, and South Mississippi Fair Commission along with having a general law practice. In his role as Youth Court Judge, he hears abuse, neglect, mental health and delinquency cases for children and youth of Jones County.
Judge Thompson holds degrees from Jones County Junior College, A.A., Mississippi State University, B.B.A., and the University of Mississippi, J.D. He and his wife Tina, a school counselor at Glade Elementary School, have been married for 27 years and they have three children: Taylor, a law student at Mississippi College School of Law; Peyton Grace, a graduate of Mississippi College who recently married Tanner Johnson, and Will, a recent graduate of South Jones and an incoming freshman at Ole Miss. Judge Thompson is also an active member at Soso Baptist Church.